PV school leaders impressed with contraband-sniffing dogs

WATSONVILLE -- Jessie, a 10-year-old golden lab, showed off her nose Wednesday at the Pajaro Valley school board meeting, ferreting out a planted bottle of gin.

The board is exploring using trained canines to detect contraband at campuses.

Though no action was taken, the district leaders expressed interest in the idea and asked staff to bring back more information about effectiveness and cost.

With the recent school shootings and the dangers of drug and alcohol use, district leaders have to act, said Willie Yahiro, board president.

"We, as a board, have to take steps to reassure parents that our schools are safe, and we are doing stuff to help make them safe," Yahiro said. "It may not be politically correct in all cases, but I think the public needs to know we are going to do something."

Jessie and her canine colleagues are able to sniff out illegal and commonly abused prescription drugs, such as Oxycodone and Vicodin, as well as alcoholic beverages and explosives, such as gun powder and firecrackers, said Julia Ford, owner of Proactive K-9.

Because she deploys her dogs at random schools and times, students learn not to bring contraband to campus, Ford said.

"If I can deter one student from bringing a gun on campus, then my program is effective," she said.

Some trustees expressed concern about the cost -- $350 for each campus visit. Others pointed to the cost of expulsions due to drugs and weapons. All expressed concern about drug use on campus and were open to looking at the detection services as a deterrent.

Superior Court Judge Heather Morse, who presides over juvenile delinquency, weighed in via an email to Trustee Kim De Serpa, who read parts of the message.

Morse said 95 percent of her caseload is related to marijuana use, and that the drug results in kids not being successful in school.

De Serpa, however, said she was conflicted, and looked for a comprehensive solution.

"It feels a little like a police state, and I'm a little worried about students who have some kind of smell on them potentially from their parents or someone else in the household," she said. "At the same time, a lot of parents have serous complaints about alcohol and drug use on campus."